Window control device for automobiles and other traveling vehicles



Feb. 18, 1936. L. D. BOYCE 7 2,030,849

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER TRAVELING VEHICLES-Filed Feb. 5. 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 LEONARD D. BOYCE INVENTOR ATTORNEYFeb. 18, 1936. BOYCE 2,030,849

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILESjAND OTHER TRAVELING VEHICLES FiledFeb. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I FIG.2

LEONARD D. BOYCE INVENTOR A T TORNE Y Feb. 18, 1.936. BOYCE 7 2,030,849

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER TRAVELING VEHICLES FiledFeb.'5. 1954 5 Sheds-Sheet} LEONARD D. BOYCE IN VENTOR A TTORNE Y WINDOWCONTROL DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER TRAVELING VEHICLES I D. BOYCEFeb. 18, 1936.

Filed Feb. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 LEONARD n BOYCE A TTORNE Y h 0; m a5 3, w m. h S m E ME 8 mm r 9L 4,

.Feb. 18, 1936. D BOQCE v 2,030,849

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE ,FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER TRAVELING VEHICLESFiled Feb. 5. 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 8

LEONARD Di BOYCE INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATESWINDOW CONTROL nnvrcnron AUTOMO- BILES AND OTHER. TRAVELINGVEHICLESLeonard D. Boyce, Maplewood, Mo.

Application February 5, 1934, Serial No. 109,779

1 Claim.

This invention relates to window control devices for automobiles andother traveling vehicles and more particularly to devices for pivoting,tilting and raising or lowering the window glass in such a manner as togive the operator complete control of the ventilation with the window ineither open or closed position.

Previously known devices of this character have, in some cases, providedfor the raising and lowering of the window glass and in other cases theyhave provided for the pivoting or tilting of the window glass to controlthe ventilation. I am not aware, however, that any device has beenprovided for permitting the tilting or pivoting of a window to controlthe ventilation in combination with means for lowering the tiltableportion of the glass so as to completely remove it from the window whenthe maximum open air conditions are desired.

An object of this invention is to provide a window having one or morepanes of glass which may be tilted or pivoted to set up air currents ofthe desired character when the vehicle is moving, and having means forcompletely removing the glass and associated apparatus from the windowopening when desired.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, referring to which:

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the inside of an automobile doorconstructed according to my invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation, taken along the lines 2-2 of Figure 7, lookingin the direction of the arrows and showingapart of the operatingmechanism.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows and showing a part of theoperating mechanism.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken along the lines 44 of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows and showing a part of theoperating mechanism.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation taken along the lines 55 of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows and showing a part of theoperating mechamsm.

Figure 6 is an elevation of the upper portion of the window according tomy invention, parts being broken away for better illustration of others.

Figure 7 is a sectional plan view taken along the lines 1-1 of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a sectional elevation similar to Figure 2 except that theraising and'lowering mechanism is shown in partially lowered position.

Referring to the drawings the reference .nu-

meral 1 indicates the outerpanel of the door. 5 This is of conventionalform and is'usually made of sheet metalwith decorative molding aroundthe window opening as indicatedin Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5. The inner panelof the door is indicated by the reference numeral 2 and is also usuallymade of sheet metal. Both inner and outer panels are conventional exceptthat openings are provided for certain operating handles, hereinafterdescribed. In the particular form of the invention shown herein, I haveprovided two 5 separate window panes indicated by the reference numerals3 and 4. The lower edgesof these panes are supportedin the channels 5which are pivoted on the vertically extending pivot 6 which is rotatablymounted on the casting I which forms a 20 part of the supporting frame.The pivot member '6 is provided with .an annular recess 9 for thepurpose of receiving the socket sheet metal retaining member 13.retaining member is provided for the purpose of holding the pivot 25member 6 in assembled relation with respect to the casting l, bypermitting convenient removal of the pivot 6 and channel member 5 suchas might be necessary in order to replace a broken pane.

A plate member 10 is interposed between the channel 5 and the casting Iand the upper side of the supporting frame H is interposed between theplate Ill and the lower side of the channel 5. If desired a rubber pador cushion 12 may be cemented to the supporting frame H for theexclusion of air which might otherwise flow thru the crack between thechannel 5 and the supporting frame I I. The channel I3 is formed betweenthe plate l0 and the casting l to permit sliding movement of socketretaining member 8. The right hand end of the member 8 is perforated toreceive a small crank I4 which is eccentrically mounted on the rotatablemember I5. The member I5 is provided at its upper end with a screwdriver slot as indicated in Figures 2 and 8, so that by rotation thereofthe member 8 can be withdrawn to permit the pivot 6 to be lifted out ofits position in the casting I, a set screw I6 is provided for preventingaccidental withdrawal of the fork member 8 from the annular recess :9,The upper end of the set screw 16 is accessible when the channel member5 is pivoted tonne side or the other but is covered by the lower edge ofthe channel 5 when the same is in line with the supporting frame H.

For the purpose of avoiding redundancy the supporting frame andoperating mechanism for the front window frame 3 only will be described.It will be understood that a similar mechanism is provided for the rearwindow frame 4.

The plate is rigidly attached to the casting 1 by means ofsuitablescrews .11, one of which may, if desired; pass thru the fork 'or yokeand the member 8.

The lower end of the pivot member 6 is provided with a bore to receivethe upper end of an operating shaft l9 and the lowerv end of the member6 is also eccentrically slottedto receive the pin 26 which passes thruthe shaft I9. The

reason for locating the pin 26 eccentrically is to insure the partsbeing assembled in the'same relative relation without requiring any.special thought on the part of the operator. The lower part of the shaftI9 is provided with a bearing 2! in the casting 22 and a worm wheel 23is rigidly mounted on the shaft l9. The casting 22 is attached to thecasting 1 by means of screws or bolts 24. A worm gear 25 mounted on atransverse shaft 26 meshes with the worm wheel 23, the gear 25 may beeither keyed to the shaft 26 as indicated in Figure 2 or else made adrive fit thereon. The end of the shaft 26 is provided witha sharptoothed spur gear 21 suitable for engagement with another sharp toothedgear 28 which is adapted to be operated by the operating handle 29.. Thereason for making the gears 21 and 28 with sharp teeth and of the spurtype is to insure easy engagement of these two gears when the gear 21 ismoved upwardly against the gear 28.

The previous description relates to the main part of the supportingframe or sub frame comprising themember H and associated parts. For thepurpose of raising and lowering the supportingframe I have provided anelevating mechanism which will now be described. The main part of theelevating mechanism is the transverse member 30. This is a channelmember of hollow rectangular cross section and is attached to anoperating member 3| provided with a transverse slot 32. The constructionof the operating member 29 is well known and it is only necessary tomention that the conventional operating handle or crank 33 operates aninternal crank or lever which slides and rotates in the transverse slot32 in the manner of a Scotch yoke, this being a conventional mechanismfor raising or lowering the window guard. Any other suitable; raising orlowering mechanism may be used for giving the member 39 an up and downmovement. The transverse elevating member 30 is provided with a verticalchannel member 34 which serves as a guide. It will be understoodthatthis guide operates in a suitable channel 35 which is formed in thewindow frame. The elevating member 39 extends transversely clear acrossthe window frame under the panes of glass 3 and 4 and is provided withvertical guides 34 at each end. It will be noted that the front edge ofthe pane 3 of the window is not vertical but the front guide 34 is notnecessarily parallel with the edge of the window and is in a verticalposition.

such as rivets or bolts 41. The inside of the member 31 is drilled fromthe upper end to receive a piston 42, the lower end of which is providedwith a shaft 44 which extends thru the bottom of the casting 31 and isprovided with lock nuts 45 to prevent unintentional disassembly. Theelevating member is perforated as indicated at 80 so as not to interferewith the shaft 44 or the lock nut. The piston is normally held in upwardposition as shown in Figure 8 by the spring. 85 but may be forciblymoved to the position shown in Figure 2 when the windows are fullyraised.

The supporting frame is provided with a transverse member 46 which isperforated to receive the dowel 43 and the dowel 8 I mounted rigidly onI the door panel, for the purpose of maintaining alignment between theelevating device and the supporting frame when the window is lowered.The upper edge of the plate 46 is engaged by the dog or pawl 39 undercertain conditions as indicated in Figure 2. The dog 39 may bedisengaged from the plate 46 by means of the slidable unlatching member41 whenever it is desired to lower the elevating mechanism withoutlowering the window pane. It will be understood that the desirabilityfor being able to lower the elevating mechanism without lowering thewindow pane is to permit the lowering of the other window pane whileleaving the first in elevated position.

The slidable unlatching member 41 is operated by means of a cam 48 whichis rigidly mounted on the shaft 26. The cam 48 engages the slidable pin49 which in turn engages the lever 59. This lever 50 is pivoted at tothe casting 1 and engages the slidable member 41 as indicated in Figure2. It may be noted here that the member 25 is the worm and the member 23is the gear so that member 25 rotates several times while the member 23makes a half turn or less which is the limit of its movement. Due to therapid movement of the cam 48 the member 50 will operate the slidablemember 41 and disengage the dog 39 several times during a single halfrotation of the window frame on its pivot 6. For this reason it ,isdesirable to prevent the dog 39 from engaging the plate 46 whenever thewindow frame is within a few degrees of the position in which it is inline with the supporting frame and elevating mechanism, In other wordsit is desirable to provide some arrangement to prevent the possiblelowering of the window pane when it is slightly out of alignment withthe raising and lowering'mechanism. In order to accomplish this I haveprovided a cam 52 having a comparatively steep contour and pinned to theshaft I9 as indicated in Figures 2 and 8. This cam operates a pin 53normally held in lowered position by spring 54. The pin is slidablymounted in a vertical opening in the casting 1 and the plate I0 is alsoperforated at 55 to receive it. 7

It will be understood that a separate supporting frame is provided foreach pane of glass used in the windows and similar dogs 39 engaging theplates 46 which are carried by the supporting frame are provided at eachend of each supporting frame. The member 41 is also extended so as tosimultaneously engage both dogs at the same time. It will be noted thatthe central portion of the slidable dog releasing member .41 is providedwith an abutment or turned in portion 56 for engaging the end of thelever 50. No

guide 34 is provided at the central part of the door so that a separatebracket member 58 attached to the elevating device 30 by any suitablemeans is provided for supporting the dog 39, the piston 42 andassociated mechanism. The end of the slidable member 41 is turned overor hooked at 59 to engage the dog 39. Instead of providing verticalguides at the center of the window, I attach to the elevating device avertical support member 60 having a dowel 6| at its upper end whichenters a corresponding opening in the upper part of the window frame.Suitable rubber pads 62 are fitted to the vertical support 60 to preventair leaks when the glass is in raised and closed position.

In order to hold the supporting frame in raised position when theelevating device is lowered and when it is not desired to lower theglass, a pair of dogs 65 are provided at the end of each supportingframe. The dogs are pivotally mounted to the door panels on pivots 66and yieldably urged toward each other by spring means of conventionaldesign as at 82. The purpose of these dogs is to slide under thesupporting frame ll whenever the top edge of the bracket 36 and 58 areseparate from the supporting frame ll sufficiently to permit the entryof the dog 65 into the crevice. When this occurs the supporting frameand the corresponding window pane are supported in upward position bythe dog 65 and the elevating mechanism 30 and bracket 36 are raised highenough to encounter the tapered lower side 6'! of the dog 65 so as todisengage them.

In order to hold the upper edge of the window pane firmly against windresistance a channel shaped member 10 is provided. The member 10 ispivoted at H to a rotatable member 12 which is mounted on the upper edgeof the window frame. A flat spring 13 is mounted on the upper edge ofthe window frame in such a manner as to move the left hand end of themember 10 downwardly with respect to Figure 6. Whenever the window paneis to be lowered it must first be moved to closed position, or, in otherwords, the position in which it is in alignment with the window frame.This brings the member 10 into alignment with the glass receiving groovein the window frame which is the space between the members I and 2 andas soon as the glass is lowered, the spring 13 causes the right hand endof the member 10 with respect to Figure 6 to enter the glass receivingspace between the members I and 2. This serves as a convenient devicefor preventing the member 10 from wiggling around when the glass islowered. A spring 14, held in place by the washer 15 and the cotter I6is provided for the purpose of preventing rattling.

In operation the elevating device 3(l3l32 is moved up and down by meansof the operating handle 33 in the conventional manner. If either pane ofglass is moved to fully closed position, that is, the position in whichit is in alignment with the window frame, the dog 38 will engage theplate 46 when the elevated mechanism is in its upper position and thesupporting frame and window pane will both be rigidly connected to theelevating device so that the window may be raised or lowered by means ofthe elevating mechanism. Whenever the elevating mechanism is in itsupward position, the spring 83 will be compressed to the position shownin Figure 8, and the gear 21 will be emneshed with the gear 28, then bymeans of the handle 29, each individual pane of glass may be rotated onthe pivot 6. It will be understood that the pivot 6 is in alignment withthe pivot member 12. 'Ifihe pane of glass being in its upward positionthe channel member 10 will be tilted in a clockwise direction withrespect to Figure 6 so that the right hand end will be disengaged fromthe glass receiving crevice between the members I and 2, therebypermitting the glass to rotate about the pivot. With the first rotationof the crank 29, cam 48 will operate pin 49 and lever 50 to slide themember 41 to the left with respect to Figure 2, disengaging the boss 39.As soon as this is accomplished, the cam 52 will, upon further rotationslide the pin 53 upwardly to prevent the movement of member 41 to theright with respect to Figure 2 until the window pane is returned to itsclosed position. The open or pivoted window pane is now completelydisengaged from the elevated mechanism. If one window is pivoted and theother left in closed position, the one which is closed may be raised orlowered while the one which is pivoted open, remains in upward position.

Assuming that one of the windows is tilted and the dog disengages in theplate 46, the first movement of the crank 33 in a direction to lower theelevating mechanism would permit the corresponding lowering of thesupporting frame except for the spring 85. These have sufficientstrength to hold up the weight of the window and supporting frame untilapproximately one quarter of an inch of downward movement of theelevating mechanism is accomplished. This is ample to permit the dog 65to enter the increasing gap between the supporting frame II and theupper edges of the bracket 36 and the bracket 58. Upon continueddownward movement of the elevating mechanism the piston 42 can no longersupport the plate 46 and the supporting frame, but the supporting framesimmediately come to rest upon the upper edges of the dog 65 and remainthere until the elevating mechanism is lifted again sufficiently tofirst compress the spring 85 and finally to force the dog 65 back to theposition shown in Figure 4.

I claim:

In a device of the class described, a pair of separated panels forming adoor panel and a window frame therein, a pane of glass slidable betweensaid panels and in said window frames, a supporting frame for the lowerside of said pane of glass, said supporting frame having a pivotmounting therein upon which said pane of glass may be pivoted, anotherpivot mounted at the upper edge of said window frame and in axialalignment with said first named pivot, means carried by said upper pivotfor engaging and supporting the upper edge of said pane of glass, saidmeans comprising an inverted channel of sufficient width to freelyreceive the upper edge of the glass.

LEONARD D. BOYCE.

